Earlier this year, a new penny hit cash registers across America. Abraham Lincoln is still there. But on the reverse side, where were accustomed to seeing the Lincoln Memorial, there is now a shield. When I saw one, for a moment I thought that the Amateur Athletic Union or the Union Pacific Railroad had suddenly minted a coin. But it’s actually a Civil War shield.

And joining us now to talk about the new penny is Robert Wilson Hoge, who is curator of North American Coins and Currency for American Numismatic Society. Welcome to the program.